Credit cards are integral to the way we bank and shop today, but many of the technologies involved in their daily use were invented in the last 65 years. How did we get from written notes to track money owed for purchases to tap-and-go spending?

Research:
“15 U.S.C. United States Code, 2011 Edition. Title 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE. CHAPTER 41 - CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION. SUBCHAPTER IV - EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY.” https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title15/html/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapIV.htm
Bellamy, Edward. “Looking Backward, 2000-1887.” Boston. Ticknor and Company. 1888. https://archive.org/details/lookingbackward200bell/page/116/mode/2up?q=credit+card
“Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.” Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/credit-card-accountability-responsibility-disclosure-act-2009-credit-card-act
“Diner Club members Don’t Carry Money.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Feb. 24, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1350764752/?match=1&terms=diners%20club&search-id=d6ce7cc5-a22d-460f-b073-94cca88ba0f5&search-rank=2
“Diners’ Club Enjoying Rapid Rate of Growth.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sept. 3, 1956. https://www.newspapers.com/image/176273766/?match=2&terms=diners%20club&search-id=d6ce7cc5-a22d-460f-b073-94cca88ba0f5&search-rank=1
“The EMV Chip Card Transition: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress.” Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43925
“Equal Credit Opportunity Act.” Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/equal-credit-opportunity-act
Evans, David S. “Paying with plastic : the digital revolution in buying and borrowing.” MIT Press. Cambridge, Mass. 2005.
Fabry, Merrill. “Now You Know: What Was the First Credit Card?” Time. Oct 19, 2016. https://time.com/4512375/first-credit-card/
Farkas, Jami. “Whatever Happened to the Diners Club Card?” Yahoo! Finance. Sept. 9, 2021. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whatever-happened-diners-club-card-230117151.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA3P5_xS_5nMkc0EsXkTroiEv2nG8H_LXFv8VTiRzqovilUtf0DDwHcz8hGGINvlsy1G4vVrH_jpZtaIErBhfH_WsEmo1wRo71aimnfF3Xcqyv5o4CXiWVKMizRSZ2_mWyymC1rgEdiiYC-nSk4ga2rv7zI5eVwxPjMIB-RCY-5N
Frankel, Robin Saks. “History Of Credit Cards: When Were Credit Cards Invented?” Forbes. Aug. 28, 2026. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/
Hyman, Louis. “Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink.” Princeton University Press. 2011.
“In 1850, three business rivals came together to form American Express.” American Express. March 18, 2025. https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/colleagues-and-culture/in-1850--three-business-rivals-came-together-to-form-american-ex.html
Karp, Gregory. “What is a Diners Club card?” Nerdwallet. Nov. 6, 2025. https://www.nerdwallet.com/credit-cards/learn/what-is-a-diners-club-card
“The magnetic stripe.” IBM. https://www.ibm.com/history/magnetic-stripe
Mandell, Lewis and Sarah Holmes. “Diners Club Begins a New Industry.” Ebsco. 2021. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/diners-club-begins-new-industry/
“Milestones.” Diners Club International. https://www.dinersclub.com/about-us/history/
Musinski, Bob and Adriana Ocañas. “When Were Credit Cards Invented? A Timeline of Credit Cards From the 1930s to Now.” U.S. News and World Report. Sept. 4, 2026. https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/articles/when-were-credit-cards-invented-a-timeline-of-credit-cards
“New Jersey Bank’s ‘Charg-It’ Gains National Prominence.” The Herald-News. Nov. 25, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/525122428/?match=5&terms=Charg-It%20&search-id=e29e3416-81cd-4ce0-9912-aa77b0102cd1&search-rank=1
Nocera, Joe. “A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class.” Simon & Schuster. 2013.
O’Brien, Pam. “When Were Women Allowed to Open a Bank Account?” SoFi Learn. Aug, 4, 2026. https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/when-were-women-allowed-to-open-bank-account/
“Plastic Payments.” National Museum of American History. Smithsonian. https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/value-money/online/innovations-money/plastic-payments
Rummel, David, et al. “Secret History of the Credit Card.” Frontline. PBS. November 23, 2004. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/showscredit/
“S.381 - 10 Percent Credit Card Interest Rate Cap Act.” https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/381
“Was the Credit Card Really Invented in Flatbush?” Flatbush History. https://www.flatbushhistory.com/articles/first-credit-card

Credit cards are integral to the way we bank and shop today, but many of the technologies involved in their daily use were invented in the last 65 years. How did we get from written notes to track money owed for purchases to tap-and-go spending?
Research:
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;15 U.S.C. United States Code, 2011 Edition. Title 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE. CHAPTER 41 - CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION. SUBCHAPTER IV - EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY.&rdquo; https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title15/html/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapIV.htm</li>
<li>Bellamy, Edward. &ldquo;Looking Backward, 2000-1887.&rdquo; Boston. Ticknor and Company. 1888. https://archive.org/details/lookingbackward200bell/page/116/mode/2up?q=credit+card</li>
<li>&ldquo;Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.&rdquo; Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/credit-card-accountability-responsibility-disclosure-act-2009-credit-card-act</li>
<li>&ldquo;Diner Club members Don&rsquo;t Carry Money.&rdquo; Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Feb. 24, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1350764752/?match=1&amp;terms=diners%20club&amp;search-id=d6ce7cc5-a22d-460f-b073-94cca88ba0f5&amp;search-rank=2</li>
<li>&ldquo;Diners&rsquo; Club Enjoying Rapid Rate of Growth.&rdquo; The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sept. 3, 1956. https://www.newspapers.com/image/176273766/?match=2&amp;terms=diners%20club&amp;search-id=d6ce7cc5-a22d-460f-b073-94cca88ba0f5&amp;search-rank=1</li>
<li>&ldquo;The EMV Chip Card Transition: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress.&rdquo; Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43925</li>
<li>&ldquo;Equal Credit Opportunity Act.&rdquo; Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/equal-credit-opportunity-act</li>
<li>Evans, David S. &ldquo;Paying with plastic : the digital revolution in buying and borrowing.&rdquo; MIT Press. Cambridge, Mass. 2005.</li>
<li>Fabry, Merrill. &ldquo;Now You Know: What Was the First Credit Card?&rdquo; Time. Oct 19, 2016. https://time.com/4512375/first-credit-card/</li>
<li>Farkas, Jami. &ldquo;Whatever Happened to the Diners Club Card?&rdquo; Yahoo! Finance. Sept. 9, 2021. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whatever-happened-diners-club-card-230117151.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA3P5_xS_5nMkc0EsXkTroiEv2nG8H_LXFv8VTiRzqovilUtf0DDwHcz8hGGINvlsy1G4vVrH_jpZtaIErBhfH_WsEmo1wRo71aimnfF3Xcqyv5o4CXiWVKMizRSZ2_mWyymC1rgEdiiYC-nSk4ga2rv7zI5eVwxPjMIB-RCY-5N</li>
<li>Frankel, Robin Saks. &ldquo;History Of Credit Cards: When Were Credit Cards Invented?&rdquo; Forbes. Aug. 28, 2026. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/</li>
<li>Hyman, Louis. &ldquo;Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink.&rdquo; Princeton University Press. 2011.</li>
<li>&ldquo;In 1850, three business rivals came together to form American Express.&rdquo; American Express. March 18, 2025. https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/colleagues-and-culture/in-1850--three-business-rivals-came-together-to-form-american-ex.html</li>
<li>Karp, Gregory. &ldquo;What is a Diners Club card?&rdquo; Nerdwallet. Nov. 6, 2025. https://www.nerdwallet.com/credit-cards/learn/what-is-a-diners-club-card</li>
<li>&ldquo;The magnetic stripe.&rdquo; IBM. https://www.ibm.com/history/magnetic-stripe</li>
<li>Mandell, Lewis and Sarah Holmes. &ldquo;Diners Club Begins a New Industry.&rdquo; Ebsco. 2021. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/diners-club-begins-new-industry/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Milestones.&rdquo; Diners Club International. https://www.dinersclub.com/about-us/history/</li>
<li>Musinski, Bob and Adriana Oca&ntilde;as. &ldquo;When Were Credit Cards Invented? A Timeline of Credit Cards From the 1930s to Now.&rdquo; U.S. News and World Report. Sept. 4, 2026. https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/articles/when-were-credit-cards-invented-a-timeline-of-credit-cards</li>
<li>&ldquo;New Jersey Bank&rsquo;s &lsquo;Charg-It&rsquo; Gains National Prominence.&rdquo; The Herald-News. Nov. 25, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/525122428/?match=5&amp;terms=Charg-It%20&amp;search-id=e29e3416-81cd-4ce0-9912-aa77b0102cd1&amp;search-rank=1</li>
<li>Nocera, Joe. &ldquo;A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class.&rdquo; Simon &amp; Schuster. 2013.</li>
<li>O&rsquo;Brien, Pam. &ldquo;When Were Women Allowed to Open a Bank Account?&rdquo; SoFi Learn. Aug, 4, 2026. https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/when-were-women-allowed-to-open-bank-account/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Plastic Payments.&rdquo; National Museum of American History. Smithsonian. https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/value-money/online/innovations-money/plastic-payments</li>
<li>Rummel, David, et al. &ldquo;Secret History of the Credit Card.&rdquo; Frontline. PBS. November 23, 2004. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/showscredit/</li>
<li>&ldquo;S.381 - 10 Percent Credit Card Interest Rate Cap Act.&rdquo; https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/381</li>
<li>&ldquo;Was the Credit Card Really Invented in Flatbush?&rdquo; Flatbush History. https://www.flatbushhistory.com/articles/first-credit-card</li>
</ul>

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Stuff You Missed in History Class

Credit cards are integral to the way we bank and shop today, but many of the technologies involved in their daily use were invented in the last 65 years. How did we get from written notes to track money owed for purchases to tap-and-go spending?

Credit Cards

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